Toothbrush



Aug. 17, 1954 SILVER 2,586,325

TOOTHBRUSH Filed March 17. 1950 A 1 INVENTOR.

LOUIS SILVER ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 17, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE TOOTHBRUSH Louis Silver, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application March 17, 1950, Serial No. 150,297 1 Claim. (01. 15-188)This invention relates to toothbrushes and more particularly totoothbrushes which are in the form of finger sleeves adapted to be slidover a finger and which depend on finger motion for their cleansingaction.

It is an object of this invention to provide a finger sleeve toothbrushwhich affords a thorough cleansing action on all exposed parts of theteeth and gums as well as the areas between the teeth and the gums,while preventing any rough or harsh action on said teeth or gums, suchas may be caused by the use of a bristle type toothbrush.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a finger sleevetoothbrush which has maximum maneuverability and maintains a uniform andconstant pressure for teeth cleaning and gum massaging.

Additionally it is an object of this invention to provide a fingersleeve toothbrush which covers substantially the entire length of thefinger so as to maintain the desired sanitary protection for the user.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a finger sleevetoothbrush whose facility of use and efiiciency are not impaired by longor protruding fingernails.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a finger sleevetoothbrush which may readily be put on and pulled off and which at thesame time will remain steadfast when on the finger and in use.

Further this invention sets forth a finger sleeve toothbrush which byvirtue of its onepiece construction gives maximum service andwearability so as to be both economical, durable, and readilymanufactured in large scale production.

Further and more particular objects of this invention will appear fromthe following description, read in the light of the accompanyingdrawings, of which Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of the fingersleeve toothbrush showing the ridges on the undersurface of the fingersleeve and the projection on the closed end thereof;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the finger sleeve toothbrush showingthe ridges and projection on the finger sleeve as well as the tab formedon the open end thereof;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the finger sleeve toothbrushshowing a finger inserted therein;

Figures 4, 5 and 6' are views similar to Figure 2 showing variations inthe type of ridges which may be provided on the finger sleeve.

As shown in Figure 1, the toothbrush, which is 2 wholly made of aresilient rubber-like material, is formed of a finger sleeve I having aclosedend 2 and an open end 3, and adapted to fit over'substantially theentire length of a finger. Adjacent the closed end section, at itsundersurface (this.

designation may be taken, for the purpose of this description, to meanthat part of the finger sleeve which coincide with the undersurface ofthe finger when positioned in the sleeve as opposed to the top surfacecontaining the fingernail), the sleeve is provided with transverseridges 4 (see also Figure 2). The ridges 4 are bordered with a series ofshorter ridges 6, the apices of the ridge 6 being at substantially rightangles to those of ridges 4 and extending outwardly thereof. The closedend 2 is provided with a pointed projection 5.

In use, the finger is slipped into the sleeve l at the open end 3 andthe finger is positioned in the sleeve by use of a pulling action ontabs 1 and 8 (see Figure 1), which are provided at the open end 3 of thesleeve l.

The sleeve is tapered at its closed end, as shown in Figures 1 and 3,and is of such length that a finger having a long and protrudingfingernail, such as is common with women, is suitably permitted to beretained in the sleeve without breaking the fingernail or having it diginto the sleeve, resulting in tearage, and the finger is substantiallyfully covered so as to prevent contact between the finger and the mouthof the user, thus preserving the desired sanitary conditions in usingthis toothbrush.

The transverse ridges 4 on the undersurface of the sleeve l are suitablypyramidal in shape as hown in Figure 2. Likewise they may be ofdiagonal, zigzag, or rectangular, diagonal and sinusoidal as shown inFigure 4, 5 and 6. Since they are made of a resilient rubber-likematerial, when the ridges are moved against the teeth and gums, thereresults a squeegee action which thoroughly cleans the whole tooth andgum area, in contrast to the action attained by the bristle typetoothbrush in common use.

The shorter ridges 6, bordering the transverse ridges 4 serve toefiectively clean the junction area of the gums and teeth by a meshingtype of action. The pointed projection 5, by virtue of its shape, servesto clean between-the-teeth areas by efiectively projecting into thesenarrow spaces.

The ridges 4 and 6 may be effectively located on a thickened portion ofthe sleeve ID, as shown in Figure l. The thickened portion I0 is locatedon the undersurface of that part of the sleeve which corresponds to theoutermost joint of the may be provided with a hole 9 for hangingthetoothbrush when not in use. The lower tab 8 is slightly longer thantheupper tab and is conveniently" equipped with several cross ridges ora roughened surface preferably on both sides,v

which is adapted to be retained by the thumb,

thus preventing the sleeve from being pulled oil in the cleansing andmassaging process.

A drainage hole I2 is provided at the top surface at the closed endsection of'the fingen sleeve as shown in Figure 1 so as to permit anyliquid which has collected in the toothbrush to flow out. In addition,this hole serves to permit egress of uponvthefingeiz Although I havedescribed a preferred embodimerit of this invention, I: do not wish to-'be limiteda by the foregoing; description but solely- What: is claimed.is

flexible finger sleevetoothbrushmad'e of a resilient-material comprisinga finger sleeve; closed atone end and openat the othensaid finger sleevebeing adapted to fit over substantially the entire length of a finger,and having a thickened section at its outer surface with a plurality ofridges thereon, said ridges being located at that section of the sleevecoincident with the underside of the outermost joint of a finger wheninserted in said sleeve, and comprising one set of ridges runningsubstantially transverse to the length of the sleeve,. and another set.of ridges bordering the transverse set of ridges;. and? substantiallytriangular in shape, the apices thereof being at substantially rightangles to the crests of the transverse ridges, said closed end beingprovided with sufficient space to accommodate a protruding fingernailand having at the tip thereof a pointed projection for between-the-teethcleaning.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date.

2 ,016,951 Welker 0e17,. 1935: 2,103,083 Lynch Dec.,21'-, 1937i2,409,101 Brittingham Qot. 8,1

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date:

1671,906 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1921 398,919 Great. Britain Sept. 28;,1933 813,603 France June 5,1193?-

